$113 for two-minute hedgehog call
A South Waikato man is furious at being charged $113 for a two minute phone call to his vet.
Peter Wisniewski made the 1.30am emergency call to Tokoroa and Districts Veterinary Services after his dog found a sickly hedgehog on his property.
But despite the charge, no vet was ever called out.
‘‘Mum let my dog Holly outside and then came running into my bedroom saying she had found a hedgehog and it was sick,’’ Wisniewski said.
He picked it up with a towel and brought it inside.
‘‘I thought well I don’t know what to do with a hedgehog if it is sick so I rang South Waikato Veterinary Services and Tokoroa and Districts Veterinary Services.
‘‘Both said to just let it go and if it died it died, they never actually came out, so I thought that was it.’’
But the next day Wisniewski was in for a costly surprise.
He booked Holly in for a checkup and learnt Tokoroa and Districts Veterinary Services had charged him for the call about the hedgehog.
‘‘I could understand a call-out fee but they did nothing,’’ he said.
‘‘I never knew there was a charge just for the phone call as there was no mention when I called that if I didn’t hang up I would be charged.
‘‘Also if South Waikato Veterinary Services didn’t charge me why did Tokoroa and Districts Veterinary Services?’’ he said.
On questioning the charge Wisniewski said Tokoroa and Districts Veterinary Services halved the fee.
Chief executive Dr Wallie Niederer defended the service’s decision to charge emergency phone call fees.
‘‘If [people] are given good advice and the person is happy and it works then we will charge an after hours phone call fee.
‘‘The amount is at the discretion of the vet,’’ he said.
‘‘It is like putting interest on an account.
‘‘If they ring up in an emergency you have got to do your best.
‘‘We can’t say well we can’t talk to you because you have not signed a disclaimer,’’ he said.
Niederer said despite Wisniewski ringing on numerous occasions it was the first time the clinic had charged him for an emergency call.
‘‘This was the third time and he was charged $113 which is our normal after hours call fee but it was discounted by 50 per cent,’’ he said.
‘‘He hadn’t been charged for the first two but they thought they better charge him as it was the third time.’’
He admitted the clinic however could not legally enforce the fee.
‘‘I don’t think we could,’’ he said.
South Waikato Veterinary Services’ Dr Tom McCormack said his clinic did not charge for emergency calls.
‘‘We don’t charge for calls, only if someone comes to see us after hours,’’ he said
In nearby Taupo¯ , where Tokoroa and Districts Veterinary Services has another branch, VETPlus Taupo¯ receptionist Jean Stephens said her clinic also does not charge.
‘‘There is no charge for calls,’’ she said.
Wisniewski said he would be changing clinics following the incident.
As for the hedgehog he monitored it overnight by keeping it in a box and feeding it before it seemed well enough to be released the following night.